Announcements

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A new report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality indicates that adding clinical practice guidelines and more current data on bioterrorism-related illnesses to existing databases of health information systems is one of several ways to help prepare clinicians for a possible bioterrorism event. Produced by the AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) at the University of California at San Francisco-Stanford University, the new report also indicates that linking decision support systems for diagnosing, treating, and preventing bioterrorism-related illnesses to other hospital information systems would substantially reduce the data entry burden.

The report is part of AHRQ's $5 million bioterrorism research portfolio announced in October 2000. The portfolio includes research projects that examine the clinical training and ability of front-line medical staff—including primary care providers, emergency departments, and hospitals—to detect and respond to a bioterrorism threat. Other projects assess and improve linkages between the health system, local and State public health departments, and emergency preparedness units.

AHRQ has also issued a new evidence report and summary, Management of Cancer Symptoms: Pain, Depression, and Fatigue, that was developed by the Agency's Evidence-based Practice Center at the New England Medical Center. This report was used as background for the National Institutes of Health's State-of-the-Science Conference on the topic that was held July 15-17 in Bethesda, MD.

The report indicates that there still is a surprisingly limited amount of scientific evidence about treating symptoms of cancer compared with treating cancer itself. Although there are treatments that work, the evidence suggests that pain often is undertreated, despite the availability of effective interventions; cancer-related depression and fatigue are less clearly defined but are extremely common and affect patients' quality of life; and that sometimes, treatments for one symptom exacerbate other symptoms.

Select to access information on the 12 AHRQ-supported centers; they systematically review the relevant scientific literature on topics assigned to them by AHRQ and conduct additional analyses when appropriate prior to developing their reports and assessments. The goal is to inform health plans, providers, purchasers, and the health care system as a whole by providing essential information to improve health care quality.

Six other evidence reports that were issued recently by AHRQ are listed below.

They provide organizations with comprehensive, science-based information on common, costly medical conditions and new health care technologies. The following list identifies the topic and EPC that prepared each report.